


Five Days

by Ndddd97



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Golden Deer Route, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Golden Deer Route Spoilers, Minor Violence, Pining, Post-Golden Deer Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:54:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26296009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ndddd97/pseuds/Ndddd97
Summary: Two years they have separated but now reunited once more at the castle.Five days he will stay at the castle and five days he will find out what he has been missing from the past two years.
Relationships: Marianne von Edmund/Felix Hugo Fraldarius
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4
Collections: 2020 Ultra Rarepair Big Bang





	1. The Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> It was an honor to collaborate with an artist to bring this fic to life. Bc, I ran out of time I made this fic a short multichapter one so that I have time to finish again.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you all enjoy it!

\------Edmund Territory, Leicester Alliance, Imperial Year 1188------

“Any sign of the bandits?” Asked the leading knight riding on a horse and wielding a lance as he escorted the carriage along with other knights on horses.

“Nothing out of ordinary here. Just some trees and birds flying around” The knight on the left side reported as he observed any sign of movement behind the trees of the woodland.

“Nothing here as well” The knight on the right side reported and continued to keep watch on the trees for movement as well.“Nothing at the back here too” The knight sitting at the back of the carriage reported as he stared intensively at the dirt path behind them and held a crossbow in his hands with his finger on the trigger. Followed with more reports of knights around the carriage as they traversed through the dense forest of Edmund territory. Since the people inside the carriage bore significant status and relation to the Edmund territory, the knights were ordered to escort them both to Gloucester for Roundtable discussion and now back to Edmund.

“Do you think they ambush us by swooping down on a wyvern?” The knight, as a coachman to the carriage, asked the knight next to him as he held on the reins to the two horses pulling the carriage, ready to order them if something wrong were to happen like a bandit ambush.

“A possibility, but it’s better for them to ambush on foot than in the air” The knight offered his opinion gripping onto his crossbow as he watched not only the front but also the sides and the air after hearing the coachman’s suggestion of an aerial ambush with the crossbow in hand.

“Stay vigilant men, we don’t want Lady Edmund to be hurt during the way home” The leading knight reminded the other knights as he continued his watch on the road ahead. While the knights kept a lookout for any movements behind the row of trees, inside the carriage sat two women. One was the margravine of the territory bearing cerulean hair and other was an older woman in white clothing.

“Once we arrived back at the castle, we will have a meeting with a mayor from a nearby town about the construction of a new hospital for those who needed further care and treatment. In a few days, you will have a meeting with the minor nobles of the Edmund territory to discuss Kupala and its region. After that, we will discuss…” As the woman in white clothing listed off the important meetings and tasks to another woman sitting opposite her on a scroll she was holding, the cerulean-haired woman was absent-mindedly looking through the window of the carriage at the scenery outside. Despite the sky being obscured by the tall trees, she could see how clear the sky was with the cloud floating by and lush rows of trees as they passed through the tense forest. The woman in white kept listing off tasks and meetings on the scroll before she eventually noticed the cerulean woman's inattentiveness as she glanced up at her while reading from the scroll.

“Are you listening, Lady Edmund?” Asked the woman in white clothing in stern tone causing the cerulean woman to flinch from her sightseeing as she quickly bowed her head to her in apology.

“A-Apology for my inattentiveness. I-I was just watching the scenery outside that's all" The cerulean woman apologized as she stated her reason with a frightened look as if she had just offended the woman. The woman in white, however, shook her head in disagreement, unconvincing of the reason for her absent-mindedness as she looked at the cerulean woman with worry, knowing full well the reason for her inattentiveness.

"I understand your worry about working with him. He can quite be pompous and egotistical, but I can assure you that your adoptive father do it for your sake” The woman in white tried to assure and comfort the cerulean woman as her expression changed from fright to doubt before shying away from her to look at the scenery outside. An awkward silence fell between them as the woman in white tried to speak or at least find words to say to the cerulean woman while she was busy watching the scenery. Eventually, the cerulean turned back to her and let out a smile, her usual sincere smile.

“I’m fine, Agatha. You don’t need to be worried about me. I can handle the situation on my own” She assured Agatha, the woman in white, hoping to relieve her worry as she could know that the cerulean woman was hiding her true feelings behind her sincere smile whether she realized or not. But not to pry or press anymore, she reluctantly nodded her head to her, ignoring for now as she returned for the task at hand.

“Shall we continue, Lady Edmund?” She asked as the woman nodded her head as she fixed her posture and put all her attention to Agatha. But before she listened though...

“But please, just call me Marianne. You don’t need to address me formally” She requested as the woman in white was about to protest but decided to go along with her request.

“Very well, Marianne. Shall we continue?” Marianne nodded as the woman in white, Agatha began from the start listing out the duties she had to attend once they returned to Edmund Castle all the while still being escorted by the knights for safe travel back to the castle. 

* * *

Deep within the heart of dense forest where sunlight shone little to illuminate the dark forest, stood a figure clad in entire black robe trekking through the forest with stiff and exhausted movement. As he trekked through the forest, he stumbled and fell onto the ground letting out a painful groan. Trying to get up from the ground, he felt a sharp pain in his left rib cage as he lifted himself up slightly off the ground with his arm. Slowly reaching to the wound with his right arm and holding onto it, he used his sore right elbow as an anchor point to lift himself up from the ground while feeling the gritty texture of the ground. Slightly up from the ground, his left arm quickly moved to support himself by placing its palm onto the surface as he continued to lift himself up until he had room for his left leg to retract inwards and anchor against the ground.

Lifting himself up further with his right elbow and his left leg while feeling intense pain in his rib cage as he gritted his teeth trying to endure the pain as much as he could. With one final push from his left arm, he fully stood up with his fast reflexed right leg to keep him stable. But unfortunately, due to how exhausted he was, his legs wobbled with every step he took, losing his balance along the way while still gripping onto his wound. But fortunate for him that he was able to find a tree to support himself as he quickly approached it and laid his hand onto the bark of the tree before laying his back against it. 

“Those… goddamn… bandits…” He cursed, panting heavily and feeling the intense pain from his wound as he looked down to see a bloodstain forming on his clothing and slowly spreading throughout his clothings. He grunted and ignored the bleeding as he continued his trek through the dense with his legs still trembling and his breathing becoming heavier with every step he took. Aimlessly through the dense woods with few spots where sunlight could shine through, the cloaked individual was looking for a nearby town or village where he could rest and find appropriate medical treatment to his badly patched up wound on his rib cage. Walking as he tried to with trembling legs and heavy breathing as he would stop to rest against any trees he came by before continuing his painful trek through the woods. Trekking endlessly through the woods, Felix would finally find a light to this dark woods. 

Light shining through the slits in between the tall trees as Felix’s face perked up upon seeing them. His legs, despite how painful and trembling they were, quickly picked up speed as he held the wound with both of his hands, quickly running towards the light. Ignoring the pain and the limp of his legs, Felix charged ahead towards the light and ran as fast as he could through the dense forest to reach the light at the end. Upon reaching the border, he tripped and fell onto the rough ground as he let out a painful groan with his right arm supporting himself and his left hand still holding onto his wound. Gritting his teeth tightly and enduring the pain, he picked himself up by pushing himself up with his right arm and using his left leg.

Fully standing on his two feet, the unknown man looked around his surroundings only to realize that he was in the middle of the dirt road with the forest on both sides of the road. Looking around and panting heavily, his eyes flared up in frustration and anger as he screamed knowing that he was nowhere close to the town or the village where he could get some patching. Hearing a distant sound, a sound of a horse galloping, and wooden wheel turning, Felix turned sharply to his left to see the emerging figures from the far end of the road.

Seeing that there was still a long way for him to find the nearest town, he had no other choice but to do things in his own way. With her free right arm, Felix pulled his sword from its sheath and held it in front of him as he readied to rob the convoy based on the sound of the wooden wheel. He hoped that by robbing the convoy, he would be able to threaten them to lead him to a nearby town or village. He had hoped so if he knew that the convoy wasn't the ordinary merchant convoy bandit came to rob.

* * *

As the knights continued to escort the margravine to her castle, they kept watch on any danger to the carriage while being unaware of the mysterious man's presence. Eventually, the leading knight spotted a figure standing alone on the road with a sword in his right hand while his other hand holding onto the blood-soaked spot on his clothes.

"Halt!" Shouted the leading knight to his fellow knights as others stopped at his response, including the one on the carriage, pulling the rein to stop the horses. The leading knight got off his horses and pulled out his sword as he became cautious toward the mysterious man.

“Half of you, follow me. The rest protect the carriage” Said the leading knight approaching the mysterious man carefully along with his men, while others stayed behind to protect the carriage. The knights held on their weapon and approached the mysterious with caution as the door of the carriage suddenly opened up with Agatha peeking her head outside.

“Why are we stopping?” Asked Agatha, the woman in white, to the knights surrounding the carriage in a circle formation, protecting from all sides with few on top of the carriage look out at the sky. One of the knights, the one carried the lance eventually turned to talk to her.

“We stopped because there was a figure standing alone on the road holding a sword at us” He then pointed at the figure as the woman turned to see the lone figure with the knights approaching him slowly.

"Is he a bit overreacted? Like, there is only one guy and a bunch of you knights ganging up on him” While the older woman was speaking, the cerulean noble peeking her head out as well and wondering what's happening.

"What is going on, Aga-" Turning to the direction the older woman was looking at as she gasped loudly with her hand over her mouth upon seeing the mysterious man.

"FELIX?!!!" She shouted out loud as she quickly got off the carriage and ran toward the mysterious man. The older woman and the knights around heard her shout and reacted with fear as they saw their Lady running out in the open, endangering herself.

"My Lady?!! Someone stops her!!" Ordered the woman in white as the knights frantically all tried to stop her before she let herself kill. Meanwhile, the cerulean woman ran as fast as she could, holding her dress up so that she ran without tripping over as her face filled with worry and fear.

_"Please Goddess, I beg thee to save this man's life!"_

* * *

"Dammit!" Muttered the swordsman underestimating the situation he was in as he readied himself and held his ground before the group of knights approaching him. Crossbows, lances, and swords held by many knights as he tried to assess his position while panting heavily and trembling. Unfortunately for him, the heavily bled wound on his ribcage would take a toll on him. His vision began to go blurry as he tried to adjust his vision while his legs, sustained from stress and exhaustion, eventually gave out. He stumbled and fell onto the ground, plunging the sword onto the ground to support and panting heavily.

"Careful men!" Shouted the leading knight as he and his men flinched from the swordsman's action and backed away from him. Seeing he stumbled, the knights took extra precaution and braced themselves for his upcoming action. The swordsman panted heavily and looked up at the knights as his senses began to go worse by the minutes due to his injury. His vision went blurry, completely unable to make up the shape no more. His ears began to deafen as the voices he heard slowly faded in his mind. His breath went heavier and heavier until he gradually lost his consciousness.

His grip on the sword lessened as his body became heavy forcing him to fall onto the ground. Eventually, with no energy left in him, he fell onto the ground with his left hand still on his wound and his eyes barely opened. The last thing he saw in his blurry vision was a cerulean coming closer toward the wall of gray before his vision went black and he fell unconscious completely. 

\------Infirmary, Edmund Castle------

Moments later after the encounter, the same mysterious man with blue hair from before, standing alone on the dirt road with a critically injured wound, now laid quietly and motionless on the bed in a room filled with cupboards, cabinets, drawers, and a second bed. Within this furniture, bottles, vials, herbs, and medical supplies were contained and stored inside, making the room a place to heal and cure injuries and wounds.

The door to the room was opened and out came the same cerulean girl holding onto a silver tray, with a steaming bowl, a silver spoon and a napkin, as she entered the room and closed the door behind her. Despite the faint sound of the door closing, the man’s eyes began twitching and soon opened wide to see himself in an unfamiliar room. His eyes darted around the unknown room until his eyes landed on the cerulean figure as his eyes widened seeing the familiar woman.

“How is your wound, Felix?” Spoke softly the cerulean woman in white blouse and blue dress holding the tray in her hands as Felix immediately rose up from the bed, feeling surprised to see her again for two years after the war.

"Mari-" A sharp pain suddenly struck him as he groaned in pain and held onto the wound, where he felt the pain. Acted quickly, the woman trotted over to the bed and placed the tray onto the drawer as she came to inspect him. The blue-haired man gritted his teeth and squirmed in pain, holding onto his wound as the woman hurriedly hovered her hands over the wound.

"Stay still, Felix. This wouldn't hurt much" Assuring the mage as green magic sigil appeared beneath her hands easing the tension of his pain and healing the wound. With its soothing and healing properties, the blue-haired man stopped squirming and loosening himself as he could feel the pain subsided and rest easy. But he still panted heavily with sweat formed on his forehead as the cerulean woman still healed his wound with her magic. Sensing that the pain had subsided successfully, she undid her magic and went to grab the napkin on the tray as she dabbed the sweats off of his forehead. His breathing eventually became slow and steady again as he could easily lay on his bed and rest easy. The woman let out a sigh as she went to get the chair and situated it next to his bed.

“It has been long since we last met, Marianne” The blue-haired man spoke up as the woman, now Marianne, sat down and picked up the tray, placing it onto her lap.

“Indeed, it has. Felix” Said the cerulean woman as she picked up the silver spoon and blended the soup, releasing more steam and the aroma. Felix sniffed the aroma released from the bowl as his face perked up and turned his head toward the bowl.

“What is it?” Felix asked curiously about the soup as he slowly and carefully got up and sat on the bed. Once sitting, he glanced down to his bare body wrapped around in bandage, just below his chest and where the wound should be, and the occasional scars from the war.

“Onion Gratin Soup” She answered briefly as she scooped up a spoonful of the soup and hovered above her free hand with the napkin on it, in case the soup decided to leave the spoon and drop onto the floor. She blew at the spoon to cool it down and leaned toward him as Felix flinched from her sudden movement.

“Eat up, Felix. Or else your wound wouldn’t be able to heal” She insisted and leaned the spoon closer to him as the swordsman looked at her and then spoon awkwardly. Eventually, he took the spoon from her hand with his and fed himself, taking the spoon into his mouth. The cheesiness, the taste of the trout, the savory smell of cooked onion, and the overall taste of the soup delighted him as shown in his perk-up face.

“How’s the soup, Felix?” She asked placing the tray back onto the drawer, seeing how Felix was able to move his arm without feeling the sharp pain on his ribs as she let out a warm smile at him and his recovery. 

“It’s good. I can feed myself, you know” Finally spoke up the swordsman as he scooted over to the drawer and began eating the soup on his own. He scooped and slurped the soup with such vigor that Marianne was amazed by such recovery from a stab to his chest. Stopped halfway with him still holding the spoon, he turned to the woman with the question he intended to ask before.

“Where am I actually, Marianne?” He asked, resuming his eating and slurping on the spoon as the door swung open with a female servant coming in holding another tray with a tea set on it.

“His tea is ready, My Lady,” Said the servant as Marianne nodded and stood up to receive the tea. Felix eyed on her while slurping on his soup as Marianne took the tray from the servant and approached the man once more. He looked up at her, slurping his soup and waiting for her answer as she put down the tray.

"You are in the infirmary of Edmund Castle. We recovered you after you fainted on the road holding onto your wound" She answered, putting down the saucer, the teacup, and the teapot accordingly onto the tray next to the bowl as she walked back to the servant and handed the tray back to her. Felix nodded at her, now remembering and understanding the situation he was in. That would also explain the unseen bumping and talking when he was unconscious.

"How much have I been out?" He asked, wondering as he put the spoon down into the half-empty bowl and poured the tea into his cup as the woman went back to him.

"Just a day, Felix" She responded and sat next to him as Felix finished pouring and brought the teacup to his mouth. Close to his mouth and under his nose, the aroma of the tea entered his nose as he sniffed and detected some floral and sweet fragrance.

"Is this?" He asked and blew at the cup as he sipped the steaming hot tea.

"It's lavender. It is refreshing when you drink it" The noblewoman answered his question as Felix put down the cup and tasted the tea.

"It's good" Giving out the same question as before as he continued eating his soup with Marianne looked at him in a mix of relief and sternness. 

"Your clothes and equipment are in your room. Due to your wound, you will be living here at Edmund Castle for five days. After that, you can leave whenever you want" The cerulean woman spoke up with her neutral face as Felix stopped halfway in his eating after noticing her tone. Her tone carried the usual calm and kind demeanor that he came to know her at the reunion and during the war. But he also sensed sternness in her tone that surprised him to a way that he couldn't grasp it. As he was about to talk, the door swung open revealing the older woman in white, catching the attention of the cerulean woman.

"It's time for your meeting, My Lady" Marianne nodded at the older woman as she stood up and bowed to Felix, turning towards the door with the older woman going ahead of her. Reaching the doorway, Marianne turned to face Felix once more with her neutral face.

"A nurse will come to check on your wound again. Until then, I will see you again tomorrow” Closing the door behind her as she left, Felix was left baffled by this unexpected stern tone in Marianne’s voice. She was innocent, kind, and generous when he met her during the war against Adrestia but seeing her after two years has passed made him questioning what she did during those years. As Felix went into his deep thought, the door swung open for one last time with a nurse coming in.

“My Lady ordered me to come to check on your wound,” The nurse said as the swordsman just nodded and placed the spoon down onto the tray. The nurse nodded back and approached him as she waved her hand around Felix while her palm glowed a green color, checking. As the nurse checked his body for any anomalies with her magic, Felix pondered more and more about her strange behavior towards him and how much she has changed during those years.


	2. Day One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An encounter with an old friend while looking at the painting as they share some opinion about the portrait

\------Grand Hallway------

“Do you need any help, Mr. Fraldarius?” Asked the male servant as Felix, in his turquoise pants and a black sweater with white sleeves, turned over to look at the servant while he was busy looking at the paintings hung on the wall of the hallway. Felix was giving himself a tour around the castle to familiarize himself during his five days staying here. As he was walking through the grand hallway, he noticed the abnormal numbers of paintings hanging around the wall and got distracted by them in the end.

“I don’t ask for your help. I was just looking” He responded rudely to the servant as he bowed to him and went elsewhere, leaving Felix alone in the hallway. Felix eyed the servant before turning his attention back to the paintings. Oil paintings to be exact based on the surface of the painting itself, just like one he saw Ignatz painted. From these paintings, Felix saw strange faces, old and young, in lavish and elaborate clothing like a noble would dress as he looked at dozens of paintings in gold frames. Eventually, he would soon get tired from looking at these paintings on the wall of the hallway he was in as he was ready to leave elsewhere away from these paintings of pride.

“Noble and their vanity” Mocking at hundreds of paintings on the wall, Felix then walked along the grand hallway, ignoring all the paintings and maybe some random piece of decoration. Unfortunately for him, he wouldn't be the only one walking along the endless hallway as another person appeared just a few feet behind him.

"It isn't our lovable grumpy swordsman himself, Felix Hugo Fraldarius," Said the man calling out to him as Felix stopped and turned to face the mysterious man. A tan-skinned man with dark hair and light sideburn, wore a loose coat and shaggy pants with a wide fabric belt tied around his waist as his clothing carried complex embroidery and vibrant color on it. He smiled ear-to-ear before the blue-haired man as Felix remained stone-faced at him, unsurprised from seeing an old face again.

“Lovely to see you again, Claude von Riegan” Unamused and sarcastically said the swordsman as Claude, now Almyran king, let out a chuckle and approached him with an opened arms welcoming him.

"Aw, come on! Put on a bright smile and a happier face! I haven’t seen you for two years!” Joyfully said the Almyran king as he came closer to Felix to give him a hug before being stopped by him as Felix let out his signature sharp words at him.

“Come any closer and you will lose your arms” Claude stopped just a few feet away from Felix as he let out a second chuckle at him and dropped his arms down with his right on his hips.

“Typical Felix! What brings you here then? Someone like you wouldn’t be in such a place like this” He asked curiously, wanting to know why he was here in the first place as Felix let out a huff at him, thinking the same thing as well about his presence here. Claude as a person, from the academy years, during the war, and now was and still is a trickster and enigma to him. Whether his goal or his desire was to himself or others, Felix still had his doubt about him even though he had fought alongside him.

“I should be asking you that question, Claude. Why are you here then?” He asked, turning to stare at the empty wall but instead, he stared at a lone painting of Marianne in her noble clothing. Unlike many paintings he saw before, this one seemed to catch his attention as his eyes fixated on the painting. He stared at the painting and admired the little and subtle details such as colors, lighting, shadow, and other details hidden throughout the painting. Claude stood next to him and gazed at the painting along with him.

“Ignatz really do have eyes for such detail. He’s the one painted this one after all” His words caused Felix to turn to him with a raised eyebrow. Ignatz, a soldier he fought alongside and a painter at heart, painted this one for Marianne? He knew that Ignatz wanted to become a painter, but he didn’t know he would eventually become one.

“He painted this one?” He asked again for clarity and turned to look at the painting again as he wondered how an amateur painter like him would paint such a beautiful work of art like this one before him. Details upon details were perfectly drawn made him think that a professional painter would have made it, not Ignatz as he would previously think.

“Yep! After Marianne inherited the title and territory, Margrave Edmund asked Ignatz specifically after hearing the reputation of the world-renown artist” Claude explained to him as Felix, despite not showing on his outside, was impressed by how much Ignatz has accomplished during those two years. It seemed that wandering around Fodlan by his lonesome had made him lose track of the time and forget the happenings around the world. Seeing Marianne again and hearing her words made him aware of how much time has passed, how much he has been missing and how little he knew about Fodlan. Hearing Claude explain to him made him wonder more about how his friends and allies had been doing since he departed after the battle with Nemesis.

“I heard you cursing the noble for their vanity. To be fair, I felt the same thing too” Said the Almyran King disrupting his chain of thought as Felix turned to listen to his opinion about the vanity of the noble shown in their painting. It seemed he wasn't the only one who disagreed with the notion of nobles wasting time and resources just to have a painting of themself on the wall.

“For me honestly, why would nobles have their own image onto a frame with layers upon layers of paint just so they could look at themselves” Claude explained as Felix nodded agreeing to his statement. Wasteful for them to have and look at the painting of themselves because they believed their vanity and pride is much more important to them than everyone else.

“But as time goes by, I’m starting to think that they are more than just a painting of ourselves. It may be weird for me to say but the painting can be our self-reflection” His statement caught him off guard as Felix sharply turned to him with a puzzling expression written on his face. Felix had to wonder how it took for Claude to make such a sentence from his previous statement criticizing the noble’s habit of projecting their own vanity onto the painting.

“Care to explain, your Majesty?” He asked, curious about the sudden shift in his opinion as the Almyran King spoke up, explaining his sudden statement.

“Like looking into a mirror. Contemplating and looking back at how you have gone and changed since the day you got this painting. Make you think how much time has passed and how much has changed since then” Offering his explanation, Felix turned back to the painting as sudden flashes of memory appeared in and out before him. The painting of Marianne von Edmund now changed into the painting of his late brother, Glenn Fraldarius as he remembered back to the days of gazing at his painting. So much time has passed, and so many emotions were expressed towards the same painting.

“If this was my painting, I would look into it and ask myself the same question that I had during five years of war” Claude chimed in as Felix was busy and deep within his own chain of thought and remembrance of his old memories. Without needing to speak those words, Felix already knew the question that Claud was thinking about as well.

_ “How much have I changed?” _ The question lingered in the mind of the former nobleman turned wandering sword as he remembered the joy, the sorrow, the anger and the regret when he looked at his dear brother's painting. It has been long since he looked at that painting back at Fraldarius. Maybe after this, he should visit his old abandoned home again and have a look at that painting again. As both men were drawn to the painting of the cerulean noble, a male servant came up to them with echoing footsteps, catching the two men's attention.

“Your Majesty! My Lady is ready to meet you in her study room" Said the servant bowing to the Almyran King as Claude nodded to him and turned to Felix to say his bidding words.

“Looks like we have to end our conversation here. I have a lot to ask about your life, but I have to attend my duty as King of Almyra. Until we meet again, Felix Hugo Fraldarius” The King placed his right hand onto his chest, where his heart should be, and bowed to him as he departed to the study room where he would meet the Margravine herself.

“I could say the same to you too, Claude von Riegan. Or whatever your real name is” Bidding farewell as well, Felix went in the opposite direction, away from the Almyran man and to other parts of the castle as he was intended to in the first place. 

“One more thing, Felix,” Said the Almyran king, suddenly stopped, out loud to the blue-haired man as Felix stopped in his tracks and turned to hear what the man had to say with a raised eyebrow. If this was another one of his philosophical speeches, Felix was ready to turn heel and walk away as far as possible before he got bored.

"Marianne is in pain right now. And only you could help patch up that pain of hers" Continuing his path to the study room, Felix stood there speechless as he was left perplexed and baffled by his words.

_ “What does he mean by in pain? Why Marianne of all people?” _ More questions began flooding his mind as he tried to make sense of Claude’s ominous words about Marianne and her pain. Eventually, he shrugged them off as he picked his pace once more exploring the castle while these questions still lingered on in his mind.


	3. Day Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A tea party with an old friend revealed what Marianne has been doing these past two years with some worry as well

\------Outdoor Garden------

“Thank you for inviting me to your castle today, Marianne,” Said the brunette woman to the cerulean woman sitting opposite her as Marianne was serving tea to her with a bright smile on her face. Pouring into the teacup was the steaming hot Albinean Berry blend tea with its sweet and relaxing scent as both could practically feel its scent entering their nostril and relaxing them. 

“It was nothing really, Dorothea. I was being generous when I invited you that’s all” She responded joyfully as she poured the tea into her cup until it was half-full. Placing the teapot down on the silver tray in the middle of a round table, she picked up her cup and blew to make it easier for her to drink as the other woman did the same too, picking up her teacup and blew at it. 

“Any invitation is worth the praise from the songstress, Dorothea Arnault herself~” The cerulean woman giggled once more at the songstress's words and singing voice as both sipped their tea at a stone-tiled area of the outdoor garden. The woman named Dorothea was her former classmate, once the Black Eagle turned Golden Deer, a friend and ally to her just happened to see Marianne during her visit to the Gloucester territory. To celebrate such a reunion, Marianne generously invited her over to her castle to have a nice tea party to reminisce about the good old days. And what better place to hold a tea party than the outdoor garden of Edmund Castle.

Large area behind the castle was dedicated to building and growing a beautiful garden with flowers from the Alliance, the Kingdom, the Empire and many more. A request given by Lady Edmund and supported by Margrave Edmund himself, it only took a year to build such a beautiful garden. The garden quickly became Marianne’s favorite place as she could enjoy its peace and serenity, and delight herself with the sight of many beautiful flowers and plants which she tended them along with the gardeners in her free time. But sadly, she hardly had the time to do so since she inherited her adoptive father’s position.

“So tell me, Marianne. How’s life treating you lately?” Asked the brunette woman sipping her tea as the noble woman’s happy expression changed into one of uncertainty. Neither sad or frustrated, the expression was a medium between the two, unable to convey how she felt about her life right now. Putting her cup, the cerulean woman tried to think about words to describe her feelings while the songstress looked at her with concerned eyes.

“Everything is fine as it is, Dorothea” Answered the uncertain cerulean woman sipping her tea as the brunette songstress put down her cup and shook her head in disagreement over her statement. Dorothea knew better than everyone about Marianne’s predicament and pain after spending time being around with her, studying with her, and fighting alongside her. From her tone, Dorothea could tell that the cerulean was lying about it and her feelings, as well as she could sense the discord between her words and her feelings.

“I know the tone better than everyone else, Marianne. Please just tell me what’s wrong and I will help you whenever I can. Just like how I had helped those old days” She encouraged as she laid her hand on top of Marianne’s left hand, which was holding the handle to her teacup. Marianne looked at her hand and then at Dorothea, with her caring and concerning face as she understood Dorothea’s concern over her.

“To be honest… I feel more stressed these past few days than the days at the academy and during the war” The woman truthfully told her true feelings to her as the brunette looked at her with concern and nodded at her, retracting her hand back to her side.

“I understand the feeling well, Mari. The responsibility of holding such a position and maintaining it is a tall order, but you managed to do it over two years, Mari! I’m impressed!” Sympathized the brunette as she was in awe of Marianne’s ability to hold and maintain such power and position within two years, considering the type of person she was during the academy and war days. Marianne nodded at her words as she picked up her cup and let out a sigh before sipping her tea.

Days after the fight with Nemesis has given her unexpected limelight when she was celebrated back home at her home territory of Edmund. With this celebration, her adoptive father had put off the marriage proposal and begun teaching her so that one day she could take up his position. Unfortunately, he began falling ill months later and became bedridden afterward leaving him unable to attend to his duty. Thus, by his request, Marianne was now officially the new heir to the Edmund territory and with that the amount of work given to her by her adoptive father. With a sudden announcement and amount of work, Marianne felt overwhelmed by the sudden change in power and position that she could hardly have the time to progress all the information. Thanks to his teaching though Marianne was able to handle the massive load of work, but still there was too much that she could handle.

“Tons of work I had to do and attend to ever since my adoptive father fell ill over the past year. Too much for me to handle on my own" The woman said with concerned and anxious tone holding onto her cup as the brunette woman nodded in agreement and brought the cup to her face. Dorothea knew that Marianne was a capable woman, unlike her past self, she could do things on her own now without worrying too much about doing something wrong. But every woman had their own limit and so did Marianne, as she needed someone to help her or else she would have fallen ill just like her adoptive father did. 

“Surely he could have someone else come help you with the workload" She chimed in and sipped her tea as Marianne nodded and drank her tea as well. The Albinean Berry tea blend was supposed to relax and calm oneself when drinking but Marianne felt much more stressed and anxious after telling Dorothea her true feelings about her life. 

"My adoptive father did actually bring someone in to help me along with my duty, Dorothea” Before she left to do her duty, her adoptive father had brought in someone to help her along and relieve her duty, one that involved much more traveling than she needed to. She was relieved and happy to hear someone was willing to help out, but she didn’t expect what the person was until she met them.

“Really, Mari? Who is this gentleman then?” The songstress excitedly waited to hear the gentleman that helped Marianne out during her duty as the cerulean woman reacted with fear and worry instead. It wasn’t that she was shy about telling her the person helping her but rather she was afraid of how Dorothea would react to hearing about him.

“I-I don’t think you want to know about him, Dorothea. Because… well…” Said the anxious noblewoman as Dorothea was confused by her sudden nervousness with her widened eyes in confusion. But still, the brunette woman cracked a smile back at her and tried to encourage her, hoping that she was calm enough to tell her.

“Don’t be afraid, Marianne! Just tell me who it is and I won’t divulge anymore” Said the brunette as Marianne grew more and more worried about telling Dorothea since she hated prideful and egotistical nobles. But if Dorothea said so then she could at least try to tell her his name, even if she was still anxious about it.

“W-Well… H-His name was… T-Theodore...” She stuttered and felt more anxious as the songstress looked at her with a raised eyebrow at the name the cerulean woman told her.

“Theodore who?” She asked in clarity as Marianne inhaled and exhaled to compose herself as calm as possible so that she had the courage to tell Dorothea his full name. With her final exhale, she readied to tell Dorothea and braced herself for what to come as she let out a shout at her brunette friend.

“Theodore Henry Tudor!” She turned her head away from her and held the teacup high covering herself as she braced herself for Dorothea’s anger. Upon hearing her shout, the brunette woman blinked her eyes a few times, sipping her tea and placing it down onto the saucer as she inhaled in and exhaled out. Marianne lowered down the teacup and glanced at the brunette before she eventually slammed her hands hard on the table, causing the stuff to vibrate on the table, and stood up tall before the cerulean woman.

“THEODORE HENRY TUDOR?!! THAT WEASEL AND PIG OF A NOBLE?!?!!” She screamed angrily before her and startled Marianne as she dropped the cup out of fright, making a crack sound once it hit the ground. She had expected Dorothea to react out of anger when hearing the name, but she didn’t expect her to be this angry about him.

“Why him specially! Why did your adoptive father pick him and not everyone else?!” She screamed out louder, feeling more and more enraged by the fact that Marianne’s adoptive decided to bring in the most egotistical and scummiest nobleman she hated the most. All the while, the cerulean woman was cowering in fear before the songstress’s anger as she raised her hands before her to calm her down.

“C-Calm down, Dorothea! I-I know that you are angry about him but it will only be for a short amount of time” Marianne reasoned to the woman as the songstress continued to show her face of anger, disbelieving about the whole news and wondering bafflingly about her adoptive father’s choice for a helper. Theodore was nothing more than a weasel and a pig, who seduced women for his own gain and dumped them once he got what he wanted. 

“I’m disappointed in you, Marianne! You should have known better than to let that guy help you!” Dorothea scolded the noblewoman harshly and sternly for having him help with her, knowing full well that pig would use her just like others as well. As for Marianne, she understood the woman’s concern over her well-being since Theodore, as far as she could know from other nobles of the Alliance, was a womanizer at heart marrying many women only for him to annul their marriage.

“I-I understand your concern Dorothea, but it's only for a short while. Once all the workload is done, he will be gone as you know it, Dorothea” She assured the woman, relieving her off the worry and concern she felt about Theodore being her helper as the brunette woman still felt skeptical and concerned about the whole ordeal. But after some time, the woman reluctantly agreed to Marianne’s words as she slowly sat back down on her seat, not before asking for reassurance from her cerulean friend.

“If you say so, Marianne. But promise me that next time I come to visit you, he won’t be here” She asked in a stern tone as Marianne nodded before her words and responded back for added reassurance to her brunette friend.

“I promise, Dorothea” Feeling relieved and reassured, the songstress let out a sigh and sipped her cup to relax. Even though Marianne promised that he would be gone by the time all the works had finished, the brunette still felt a bit uncertain about the whole ordeal since she worried about Marianne being taken advantage of by him. Glancing down at the ground below, she saw a cracked teacup in pieces with the content splattered onto the ground before looking at her cerulean friend.

“I’m sorry that I made you break your cup, Mari” The woman apologized as the cerulean woman sat upright and fixed her posture, giggling at her friend and forgiving her for breaking the cup.

“It’s okay, Dorothea. We do have a spare one here in case one is broken” She reached into the tray and took out another cup as she grabbed the teapot and poured it content into the cup, the tea still steaming hot even after how many minutes had gone by.

“I’m sorry for the negativity, Mari. Let’s talk about something else to lighten the mood, shall we?” Marianne nodded with a smile back on her face as the two steered the topic of Theodore away from the conversation and brought up other topics such as friends, hobbies, and many more. As the two happily conversed with each other about various topics they had, unbeknownst to them, the blue-haired man named Felix, reclining against the tree and crossing his arms, was eavesdropping on their conversation behind the tree near where they were sitting.

He was minding his own business, traversing through the maze of the outdoor garden to get himself know about the area outside the castle and its limit when he stumbled upon the two at their private tea party. It was meant for him to hide from them until they went away for him to continue on with his exploration on his own without everyone else knowing about his presence at Edmund Castle. But hearing the conversation about Marianne’s hardship and the person helping her, he wondered if this was what Claude would call her pain when he told him about it yesterday. If that was the case, how did she manage to hold on for such a long period of time? Enduring the pain while not knowing what that jerk of a noble would do to her? To be honest, Felix didn’t entirely know about this Theodore person until today.

If this was truly Marianne’s pain Claude told him, then he needed to find a way to somehow fix it even if he had been living under the rock for two long years. In order to do so, he needed to talk to her but he was slowly running out of time since he had only three days left to talk to her with the fifth day as his day of departure. He pondered once more taking the time hiding from the two to think about how he should talk to her.


End file.
